To Appeal to LCMS Congregations, Workers, and Institutions by the Mercies of God to Retain a Common Order of Service for the Lord's Supper

To Appeal to LCMS Congregations, Workers, and Institutions by the Mercies of God to Retain a Common Order of Service for the Lord’s Supper

RESOLUTION 4-01

Overtures 4-14–15, 6-09 (CW, pp. 333–334, 359)

WHEREAS, The Lutheran Church has long heeded the Apostle’s injunction that all things be done decently and in order (1 Cor. 14) by joyfully and freely receiving the Church’s historic order of Divine Service (service of Holy Communion) as a precious gift from previous generations of Christians by which the Word of God is not bound but given free course that it may be proclaimed to the joy and edifying of Christ's holy people; and

WHEREAS, The Lutheran Church confesses that it suffices for the true unity of the Christian Church that the Gospel be preached in conformity with a pure understanding of it and the sacraments administered in accordance with the divine Word (Augsburg Confession, Article VII:2); and

WHEREAS, It is simply not necessary for the true unity of the Christian Church that ceremonies instituted by human custom should be observed uniformly in all places (AC VII:3); and

WHEREAS, The Lutheran Reformers nevertheless protested ardently that they had by no means allowed the Mass, that is, the Divine Service (service of Holy Communion), to be abolished, but rather observed it with the customary ceremonies with even greater reverence than their opponents (AC XXIV:1 and Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXIV:1); and

WHEREAS, The Lutheran Reformers could insist that those church usages that have been established by human authority ought to be observed, provided they could be observed without sin and without the erroneous opinion that they justified (AC XV) for the sake of training the unlearned in the faith (AC XXIV:3); and

WHEREAS, The Reformers rejected the notion that humanly instituted ceremonies are in and of themselves divine worship or a part of it (Formula of Concord, Epitome X:3); and

WHEREAS, The Lutheran Reformers confess that the churches of God in every locality and age have authority to order such ceremonies in ways that are fitting and profitable for the building up of the community in the faith (FC Ep X:4); and

WHEREAS, All frivolity and offense are to be carefully avoided in this regard so that weak in faith are not scandalized (FC Ep X:5); and

WHEREAS, The Reformers also authored church orders, such as the Church Order for Braunschweig- Wolfenbüttel , recently (2015) published in English by Concordia Publishing House (CPH), which show how evangelical freedom may fruitfully be joined with a grateful reception and creative appropriation of the church's living liturgical and hymnological heritage; and

WHEREAS, The church orders evidenced variation in the details of the humanly established ceremonies from place to place, yet all within the order received from previous generations; and

WHEREAS, This received order provides in a remarkable way for the whole counsel of God to be set before the congregation in a weekly and yearly pattern that delivers the riches of Christ to His Bride, balancing both what changes weekly or seasonally (the “Propers”) with the stability of a framework that remains largely constant (the “Ordinary”); and

WHEREAS, The Constitution of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) Article III 7 states: “The Synod, under Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions shall – 7. Encourage congregations to strive for uniformity in church practice, but also to develop an appreciation of a variety of responsible practices and 1 customs which are in harmony with our common profession of faith”; therefore be it

Resolved, That the LCMS in convention appeal to the congregations of the Synod by the mercies of God (Rom. 12:1), when celebrating the Lord’s Supper, regularly to use these basic components of the Order of Service (Ordo): to gather in the Triune name, confess our sins and receive absolution, sing the praises of the blessed Trinity, attend to the reading and the proclamation of God’s Holy Word, confess our faith using the historic creeds, offer prayers for all people according to their needs, present our offerings, lift our hearts to God, give Him thanks and join with angels and archangels in their song, celebrate the Lord’s Supper with Christ’s own Words, rejoice in the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, and then depart in God's peace and with His blessing to send us forth as His forgiven children and witnesses to His grace; and be it further

Resolved, That the LCMS in convention appeal to the congregations of the Synod to rejoice in the freedom of instrumentation and style within a consistent framework of the order of service as listed above; and be it further

Resolved, That the LCMS in convention appeal to the congregations of the Synod to reaffirm Synod Constitu17 tion Article VI 4 in which we willingly agree to the “4. Exclusive use of doctrinally pure agenda, hymnbooks and catechisms in church and school” in all worship services; and be it further

Resolved, That the LCMS in convention appeal to the pastors and other worship leaders of the Synod to make a rich and full use of the liturgy and hymns of the church; and be it further

Resolved, That the LCMS in convention appeal to the educational institutions of the Synod to educate and form students in the riches of our liturgy and hymns; and be it further

Resolved, That the LCMS in convention appeal to our congregations and workers to welcome and encourage the development and use of new hymns and liturgical settings, which continually is called forth by the Holy Spirit, not as a supplanting of what has come before, but as a supplement to it, its living growth; and be it further

Resolved, That the LCMS in convention appeal to the circuits and districts of the Synod and the Council of Presidents to engage in full and open discussion in the next triennium of how this spirit of unity and freedom is put into practice in our walk together, and that the district presidents would encourage the implementation of this resolution and report back to the 2019 convention; and be it finally

Resolved, That the LCMS in convention appeal to our congregations and workers to remember that the freedom to which we are called in Christ “shall be and remain a servant of love and of our fellow-man” (Martin Luther, AE 53:61).

FCname

Life Together

Resolution

4-04

Title

To Appeal to LCMS Congregations, Workers, and Institutions by the Mercies of God to Retain a Common Order of Service for the Lord's Supper

Comments and opinions of others

Opinion Summary from 4 people ranging from Very Important to Very Important with an average of Very Important

Opinion

comment

Date

Very Important

As Martin Luther debated - Hoc est Corpus Meum. What is the meaning of "est"?

07/07 06:43pm

Very Important

07/07 09:24am

Very Important

06/26 03:31pm

Very Important

Essentially just a plea to be genuine in our Lutheran identity and actually uphold what we promised when we became members of Synod. As Dr. Feuerhahn used to say, "Let's be Lutheran, shall we gentlemen?"

06/20 05:25pm

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